florida has anything to worry about. it would be shocking but not unprecedented. it has happened before with systems because the water here just about as warm as anyplace on earth. because of that, there is a possibility that there could be development there. but in my opinion, it's when it gets out in the gulf of mexico. now, if it moves up on the west side toward our neck of the woods, it would be weaker because it's close to land. if it makes it out west of florida and into waters of the gulf, then it's a whole other ball game. we will talk about that coming up. good news for the surviving victims of the pulse nightclub shooting. >> the hospitals where the victims are being treated are giving them a break. >> reporter: two months have passed. but for jose garcia, the images. >> i think about it every day. >> reporter: a raw. the reminders everywhere. >> you expect to hear the

music. >> reporter: he escaped the gunfire at the pulse nightclub. his best friends of polk county were not as lucky. they were among the 49 people killed. another friend, mario perez got shot multiple times and has no insurance. >> he got hurt really bad. they haven't been able to work. they have rent. they have bills. they have responsibilities. and a big concern was that hospital bill that was come? >> reporter: now the victims can take that weight off the shoulders. the two hospitals that helped those in the shooting will not bill them. they will find other ways to absorb the $5 million in waived bills. >> there's hate everywhere but there's so much love in orlando. >> reporter: garcia who also never got a bill foratment isn counseling suffering from ptsd. victims and the families will receive the $20 million donated

they may face health care costs down the road but hopefully the bills are not stacking so high. >> you think that all that hospitals want is money. it shows that the community has come together. >> reporter: in polk county, ryan raiche, abc action news. >> well, overwhelmed in a good way. that's the word that amanda's family used when they learned that the medical bills would be waived. it will allow the money she receives to go to the living expenses and getting because she is not able to work. she was one the people in the bathroom with the shooter. she used her nursing skills to stay alive and help others. yomight have to find a new route home tonight in tampa. crews are working on a water main closing macdill and gandy boulevard at 9:00 tonight. it will reopen tomorrow. it is to improve a water main in the area. possible heavy rains causing some big zika concern.

around the clock and spraying to fight the zika virus. but the rain could cause a set back. because any standing water left behind can make for a breeding ground for mosquitoes. forecasters and our abc action weather team are eping a close eye on the tropical system that could threater south florida. right now the number of nontravel related cases of zika in florida is 43. >> ashley, there are rising concerns tonight about the aerial spraying that uld cause brain damage in unborn babies just leek zika virus. the pesticide is already banned in other countries but the cdc argues it is safe. they believe it is the best option to kill the zika carrying mosquitoes and the

>> it has opinion used ex -- has been used extensively in the united states. they say this is causing serious side effects in users. the antibiotic has new labels that will warn patients that the side effects may eigh the benefits. the drug has disabling effects on the nerves, tendons and joints. it is used for sinus infections and urinary tract infections. an alleged serial robber in jail right now. he had arrest warrants in hillsborough and pinellas counties. he is accused of stealing electronics from car washes and a laundromat. a firefighter suffering heat stroke while working on this fire. it's now out on soaring hawk lane in a rural area. double-wide and several other

in flames when the fire crews first arrived. the firefighter was rushed to dade city hospital. the fire chief says he is now awake and talking and expected to be okay. well, a cooking accident causes an apartment to catch fire in hillsborough county. fire happening at the montclair isles apartments yesterday. somebody was baking when a hand towel caught fire. once the fire was put out, the burned hand towel was plac in a bathroom and fire broke out in the bathroom. apartments nearby got smoke and water damage but no one was hurt. right now the coast guard is lookg for a missing boater in the panhandle near pensacola. they say he fell off his boat near the bridge. no other details are available right now. two men find a body in ditch.

they're waiting for autopsy results to determine the cause of death. but they do not believe the person was murdered. allegations of bigotry and racism hurled at clinton by donald trump. lana zach has it all from washington. >> reporter: donald trump is reaching out to minority voters. meeting with african-american leaders today. >> we have great relationships and the numbers are going up with the african-american community rapidly. >> reporter: and in a major shift, trump is pivoting on immigration. in an appearance fox news, trump says he will provide an opportunity for legalization for millions of immigrants in the u.s. illegally. >> do we tell these people to get ow, number one, or work with them and let them stay in the country. >> doug: a position that may not set well with a core group of trump supporters. >> who want those people thrown out. >> i do. >> if you ask any trump voter,

together is the immigration stance. >> rorepr: trump says it is not amnesty. >> what donald trump is talking about has been called amnesty in other contexts. >> reporter: trump is trying to change the narrative for the first time branding hillary clinton a racist. watch the reaction from this supporter. >> hillary clinton is a bigot who sees as votes. >> reporter: clinton back on cnn. >> he is taking a hate movement mainstream. >> reporter: planning her own counter attack today in reno, saying trump embraces, quote, extremism and presents a utopian view of america. >> reporter: she says trump is

two scary plane landings and they both involve slamming into berms. first the jetblue hit on the side by a bird. then a jumbo jet hit a flk of birds. remember what happened at lugardia airport back in 2009 when sully landed it in the water after hitting birds. there are fresh concerns about the dangers of birds in and around airports. >>we're talking flight delays now. it's nothe weather. it's the airlines according to a news report. mechanical issues and scheduling of crews are the big issues here. good news, thanks toair traffic technology, delays overall have dropped. we are learning more about the final moments before the cargo ship el faro sank last october. investigators recovering nearly 26 hours of information from the recorder. it lost propulsion at 6:13 in the morning the day it sank.

recorder calling it a critical situation. all 33 people on the ship died. the audio has not been released, by the way. bikers on the pinellas bay way bridge are upset. we will tell you what someone is leaving on the bridge, on the road that is putting th danger. homeowners in flood prone st. pete could be saving on their flood insurance. what the city is doing to help. accused of killing and torturing a toddler. ahead at 6:00, what prompted

>> happening today, two fires i if you see smoke, don't panic. they are prescribed burns. one of the prescribed burns is in the area of east bay road. the second paul buckman highway in plant city. bicyclists making a frightening discovery, tacks in the bike lane of a popular pinellas county trail. our abc action news team picked up more than 30 of the tacks along the bridge driving to st. pete.

you're really up close. understandably this is worrisome for bike ders in the area. >> how would you feel if i threw big nails and it gets in your t e? >> the florida department of brge. ortation is in charge of because of our story ty're going to sweep the bike lanes and make them safe for and you your family to bike ride or walk. >> good idea. an update on the recent ford recalls. the number rising to 113,000. ford three different problems. first faulty fuel pump modules in the ford taurus, flex and lincoln cars made between 2013 and 2015. ford is also recalling 2017 escape suvs to update power window software. with the threat of storms knocking on the door, many of us are thinking about protecting our homes. the city of st. petersburg is

flood area. as ashley yore explains tonight, the savings will go into homeowners' pockets. >> reporter: it's a beautiful view that comes with a price. >> insurance costs have gone up over the two years significantly. >> report: the shore acres home is in what saint pete caspecial flood hazard areand flood insurance can be notorious lehigh here. some relief could be coming. it will drop from a 6 to a 5 saving the families $1.9 million collectively on flood insurance. >> that would be great for the homeowners because all of the other exns are going . up >> reporter: the city has made changes, lying raising the minimum height on ne construction by two feet. that's ho th're changing the fema designation. it means an extra 5% cut to flood insurance rates. money that lucy would love to hang on to. >> for the amount of money w

savings. it pays for some stuff for him. so dini'll take some savings. >> reporter: that's money that he can spend on supplies that he knows he needs living in the neighborhood. >> you need water and canned foods. >> reporter: you probably know if you live in a flood hazard zone but you can always check this map on stpete.org. that fema designation should start the first of october. and we want to remind you tonight at abc action news want to take action for the things that matter to you. tell uswhat you're wondering about by going to abcactionnews.com and send us a good question. just click on ashley yore's story on the st. pete city council and let us know what keeps you up at night. a little boy in pennsylvania is using his allowance to buy police officers lunch. sandwiches was on the menu today. he wants the officers to eat healthy. they thanked william for his

special police department t- shirt, you see it there complete with a badge. what a great story. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> denis, i think you're the busiest person in the news room today. >> it has been active. i want to get through this entire weather cast and talk about what we will be dealing with for the next three days. what is out there won't bother us until tuesday. i don't think it will be a big deal. famous last words. at leaf for the things are quiet except for a couple of showers off shore. a couple of thunderstorms. look at titan doppler radar. they're actually pretty heavy if you go just southwest of the coastline. otherwise everything right now is looking pretty good and very dry. let's hope it works out this way tomorrow night for the bucs home preseason opener against the browns. because, you know, it just takes one storm to pop up right over a place and just make it miserable and sauna like and

case. it certainly won't be tonight as the viewing area stays dry. boy, is it hot. temperatures in the low to mid- 90s right now. you feel in -- throw in the humidity and the feels like temperature are up in the 100s. we topped out at94 in sarasota. 97 winter haven. temperatures on average about 3 to 5 degrees above normal today. more of the same tomorrow. then things change by early next week. 94 and sunny tampa. the dew point not bad. 68. pretty comfortable. any time we have a dew point below 70, that's a bonus for us in the summertime. like i said we hit 94. we should be at about 9 the 0. shy of the record from s gu19y hour. sarasota, actually a thunderstorm last report at . the dew point is 72. east winds at 14 miles per hour.

changes to the classic summertime pattern that we see. east to west flow means a sunny morning and storms in the afternoon. coverage today might be 10% that picksp in. this evenithng, at will be closer to 0. overnight, all is quiet. waking up to sunny skies on friday. by the way, i think you will be waking up to sunny skies on saturday and sunday as well. but late afternoon storms pop. for you tailgaters planning to go out for the game tomorrow, there could be a few showers storms between 4:00 and 7:00, up to kickoff. it's something that you have to deal with living in florida. it goes with the territory. saturday morning, this does too, sunny skies and great beach weekend. at least the first half. then sunday, we begin to see changes. even saturday evening. the timing will be the same. but there's more storms because we're beginning to see an increase in re comingin from th it is because of this.

when you get your low center the and no thuorndms at all, it is called a naked swirl. there are no storms to sort of close it off to help protect it from shearing winds and drier air. over the next day or so, it will continue to move northwest. models insist, and i think they're on t monday wee this, it's going to goest somewhere into the gulf. whether it hugs the west coast of florida as a weaker system or maybe decides to go a little more to the west, that would become an issue. gulf coast. if that thing gets into the gulf with the very warm water 90 degrees, that thing could go to town. that's the one thing that 're keeping . closer to home, northeast wis at 5 to 10 knots. light chop out of the bay. there are your upcoming tides. sunrise and sunset. your hour by hour forecast this evening, mostly clear. very warm. we stay warm. waking up to clear skies and

for the beach on friday, maybe a few storms come 4:. otherwise looking goi ink the s saturday as well. here is a look at florida's most accurate 7-day forecast. rain chances at about 30% on friday. so certainly below normal. now, saturday and sunday, if you have weekend plans right now, i think you're good to go. i really do. te sunday is when thbegs gin to so what we're looking at on monday and tuesday and wednesday, if there is a system off to the west coast of florida, we could get rains and breezy conditions. if it continues to move off to the west, then at that point, it would be little if any threat to the state of florida. thank you safety concerns tonight. a woman is dead after falling from a zip liplatform. the one thing that may have prevented this tragedy. download the new abc action news app for your mobile phone and tablet. just search for abc action news

the company running the zip line go ape in delaware has 15 locations in 14 states. none though are here in florida. here is wendy ryan with a look at what is coming uat 6:00. >> thanks, ashley.

zika speak where it is being transmitted in florida. plus these stop -- top stories. coming up, we will show you where it is and the one tweak that the state made that has made all the difference when it comes to drivers' safety. this man accused of beating a baby to death and torturing her brother. >> his range of excuses were very wide. the next step grieving fily. of sexually assaulting women. w the i-team questions the design

>> live from the station taking action for you, this is abc action news. >> a normal massage has flipped my life upside-down. >> t vulnerable position. the state is letting it happen. the questionable practices putting your safety at risk when you go in for a massage. danger zone no more. the changes saving lives on a busy bay area road because of an i-team investigation. we're getting a clearer picture of the tropics. you can see the modeled behind me. invest 99 right behind us. >> yes. chief meteorologist denis phillips joins with us

right, denis. >> i think so. it will take a couple of days to get its act together. as far as i can telecom paired to this time last night, we're in a much better place. let's even say it gets organized down the road and impacts the west coast of florid it would still be close enough that it really wouldn't have an opportunity ramp up. the other thing is percentage of development has dropped 10% from the last time that the hurricane center put out an advisory. another one set to come out at this is the reason why. there's your low center. there is really th it. if it continues to move west, then all of a suddenou're looking at it interacting with cuba, which would cause it to dismiss any possibility of getting its act together any time soon. as far as i'm concerned, we could get rain out of this early next week. at this point, i don't think it will be a major deal. the issue would be if it went into the gulf. not for us, but the northern